Since the launch of BlackBerry 10 there has been a lot of speculation out there surrounding sales, available stock and who exactly is out there purchasing the new BlackBerry Z10. In a recent interview given to the Frankfurter General Newspaper, BlackBerry CEO, Thorsten Heins gave some further background on the matters.

While not giving out exact numbers and simply stating they will come later after some more business is done, Thorsten did once again, confirm that sales of BlackBerry 10 smartphones exceeded expectations and that production capacity has been increased to help deal with the demand coming from carriers and consumers.

Overall, it's an interesting interview in the fact you get to hear the details from the one person would know better than anyone else how sales for BlackBerry 10 are going. You can hit the link below to read the full interview and feel free to drop your thoughts on it in the comments section. It's going to be interesting when the numbers do finally drop for everyone to view.

Reader comments

I certainly hope for a more diverse product line across all line and companies. This is the best for the consumer. Those of you that can remember the USSR. They had little choice, and the products were pretty much crap. No innovation, no drive to be better, a society that became weak and dull. But then again - maybe after everything is said and done - it is a phone.

I guess you haven't seen Blackberry's road map for this year! There are more products coming done the road; however, in order for that to happen, the Q10 and Z10 have to be successful. The fact that they're increasing production is proof that the phones are selling. The next big OS will be BB10 (QNX). Now is the time to pick up those stocks, you will regret it later!

Gross oversimplification of a nation you obviously know little about. USSR made the greatest scientific, educational, technological leap in history! In the early 1900s their ppl were farming with wooden tools. By the 1950's they were inovating in industry and technology. They were in the space race and became a global superpower. Quite diiferent than what you portray.

I remember something different than that in the eighties... and then the Berlin Wall fell. To say the former USSR made the greatest achievements is like ignoring the achievements of the rest of the world. But carry on.

"Better than expected+ surprisingly high proportion customers coming from iPhone and android" seems fit the pieces together very well, because BBRY initial production order shall base on BB customers churn rate and breakdown by countries and carriers etc. As Ex-RIM employee and long BB shareholder, I'm so excited to see BBRY comes back better than the plan.

Kevin, just a reco, if possible for CB to run a contest to ask for current z10 users how they "creatively" use multitasking feature, from consumer perspective (such as listening music+ e-reading), or from IT perspective (such as setting IT policy + upgrading services), or from developer perspective (such as write code for one app+ test /QA at the same time). This will give current users and potential users what's the differentiator to competing OS, and more importantly more reasons to each group of users (consumers/ IT/ developers )why they shall embrace BB10. Thanks

Just check out my comments on the GADGET BOX article before this one...
3 apps running at same time in a very practical usage...(actually 4 if you look closely at the MAP/COMPASS app in action - tracking makes it 5)

everyone visit cnbc and request an interview - in english - with heinz through their 'contact us' section.
together, we can try to make this happen and squash all the false & negative reporting of the last 2 weeks.

Who cares if the the "bears" are winning the battle? It's kind of a quiet time right now, with the international rollouts ongoing and the US launch upcoming.

There's no good reason to release firm numbers right this minute, because no matter how good they may be, there will be critics finding fault with them. They HAVE to state numbers to March 2 when they hold their quarterly call on March 28.

Some people are just thick and others have selective hearing. Where did you learn your truth and why are you accusing a respectable CEO of a respectable company of bending the truth? What a moronic statement.

+100 I have spent about $100 in apps this past week alone, I wasnt really interested in any other true smartphone besides the z10. the marketing campaign is great and my stocks in BB are doing fine to me. We will see true results after the launch in America.

street expects 300K for february. to which Thor responds "Since I have completely different information, and you can be sure that we are the sales figures every day watch. We exceed our expectations, and the requirements were ambitious. Before we give out specific numbers, we want to do business but watch for a while...The fact is that we have been surprised by the positive response. We have now increased our production capacity....I will not reveal at the moment. But I can say this much: significant for us and unexpectedly high proportion of BlackBerry 10 devices will be purchased by new customers who previously had iPhones or Android smartphones."

according to fellow Crackberry member Dapper37 "5850 stores selling the Z10 b/n the UK and CAN, Average 28 days left in the 4th qtr. 1 sold a day at each store is = to 163,800 Z10's" this does not include UAE, Africa, Europe or even India. Just Canada and UK.

*insert sarcastic tone here* I can't believe some people are so thick as to not trying to understand statements of facts from an insider. However, those people would be prepared to gobble all false and scandalous information circulated by uninformed third parties who only do so for profit.

Question: Now you hope for a comeback of new smart phones with the operating system BlackBerry 10th Some analysts say the launch in initial countries such as Britain and Canada a few weeks ago was a little underwhelming.

Response: Since I have completely different information, and you can be sure that we are the sales figures every day watch. We exceed our expectations, and the requirements were ambitious. Before we give out specific numbers, we want to do business but watch for a while.

Considering the z10 is sold out everywhere across canada has to be some indication and there were lineups around the blocks at uk carriers is a great indication of strong sales of the phone. I smell a bunch of iphonies in thee comments here...

Not sure what to believe? I do know that Heins has not given us any reasons not to trust him since he took over. Also, there are many reasons why companies don't post sales, so it does not seem unrealistic for BlackBerry to hold this information at this point.

Try Googling BLACKBERRY NEWS. They keep the feeds negative no matter how old. Jim balsillie sold his shares and the stock to a hit down about $1.00 The next day the stock rebounded and I could find no news of it. In fact they kept the same feed running that the stock took a hit even though they rebounded. Surprisingly Bing gave it to us straight not just the negative but the positive.

Bears have wished so hard for the company to fail that it will be very tough for them to accept a new reality. I am not sure they will even accept published numbers that are good. To them, there will always be an issue. That's the psychology of this.

They have those at work that have an invested interested in seeing the Brand fail. Thor is a cool cat. I like how he handles himself. The March US release date was a gift. As you can see and will see daily increases in sales, apps and interest.

It's a pity that people didn't realise just what the PB could do. HP has just announced, nearly 2 years later, a similar product but running Android.
And I've just given away a good Android tablet because I never use it, whereas the PB gets used for a considerable time every day.

Ramping up production means nothing , without knowing what current production was and what the new number is now. And since the us launch is close of course production is going to be increased. Do the diehard rim fans here actually own any stock or just blindly cheer? If you own a significant amount i can understand the pumping. This is a ceo who should be treated the same as any ceo, some of you guys really are getting scary with your allegiance to rim/thorstein. If steve jobbs was alive he might even be envious of this troubling love affair.

My whole family will be switching from iPhone to Z10. Let's count 5 phones there. Lots of colleagues at work will do the same. This is only in my tiny circle. Repeat that how many times?... The success will be phenomenal. Bears are scared and they just want to bury their head in the sand.

QUOTE:
Heins added, “I can say this much: significant for us and unexpectedly high proportion of BlackBerry 10 devices will be purchased by new customers who previously had iPhones or Android smartphones.”

Sold out in canada?. Thats not true. You want to see reality go check craigslist in vancouver. Brand new in the box z10s are now 550 obo and used 500 obo. So much demand it sells 200 under retail. I dont put any weight with scammers like cannacord who now claim 300,000k in sales, but i dont put any weight in anything thorstein says either, even if sales were 20,000 do any fanboys here think for a second he would say anything different then he said in this interview? And by fanboys i refer to those who act as if bbry is a cult. Much respect to cb users who are clear minded thinkers

according to fellow Crackberry member Dapper37 "5850 stores selling the Z10 b/n the UK and CAN, Average 28 days left in the 4th qtr. 1 sold a day at each store is = to 163,800 Z10's" this does not include UAE, Africa, Europe or even India. Just Canada and UK.

Guess what.
Before I purchased my PlayBook from Future shop, I was looking at Craigslist. I couldn't find pre onwned Playbooks for less than what they were selling for in stores but then you would see these too good go be true deals similar to what you write of. You know what happens when you enquire on those ads? You get an email response saying they just sold theirs but there are more here and they give you a scam link to bid . Com.
You ever wonder why people can't get their hands on legit z10 from retailers yet magically these people on craigslist have truck loads of them?

Lmao. You're gonna make this a lot of fun for me. I haven't seen a Troll like you for a while. I'd smack you with my glove and challenge you to a duel, but I don't like my belongings touching filthy animals.

I think some of those analysts who recently downgraded BlackBerry, based on estimated sales numbers for the Z10, may get an embarrassing surprise when those numbers are finally released by the company.

It was confirme by Peter MIsek back in January that as of dec. the producion was upped from 500k/month to 1 to 1-5 mil per month. Then Thor told on Jan 31st that he asked ops guys to increase the production

We know how the US media is unfriendly to Blackberry, to a point that makes you wonder if they are the media arm working for the big shorts who lies, cheats and FUDs.

They have cried wolves many times to depress the stock price. Each time the effect is getting less.

For instance, last Friday, after the MKM FUD, price dropped but volume is relatively low. As if the big shorts were not happy about that. CNBC happened to have two videos on @ 3:30pm to reiterate the MKM downgrade yet another time and negative comments from two guys who have not even seen a Blackberry Z10, half an hour before the market close. It caused a small panic.

We know how the game is played. DO NOT PANIC when you hear negative US press or downgrades. They can only profit on your fear.

There is also a reason for the timing of Heins' interview. He wants to reassure us all, after last week's events, that things are going well and remind us not to give any weight to statements from those sleazy critics.

+1000 well said... large hedge funds in the usa don't want to hear the truth ... they have great exposure on the short side ... and most US critics don't really know the product or what is happening ... but bb z10 consumers do ... and they are buying!

Josh Brolin, What did you expect to find here? Of course people on Crackberry have an intense love affair with anything BlackBerry. What is the point of your post? Are you that lonely that you need to get feed back any which means you can? This is just unhealthy for your well being. Here's a tip, go to a website that likes the same things you do. You need to be around people like this. Hope things work out? Take Care.

I had an opportunity to talk to a seasoned WirelessWave sales rep over in BCs largest shopping mall (Metrotown) in respect to sales of the Z10. He stated, and I double confirmed, that the sales between the Z10, S3, and iPhone 5 are split even down the line at about 1/3 each. This is actually quite good and he said that the response of the public to the Z10 has been quite positive.

We do have to be realistic here though as well...the sales right now are still not indicative of the long term trend, but the early indicators are certainly good. BlackBerry will have to deliver the apps as well to secure the users that have bought the devices. Also, you have to keep in mind that this is not the entire market share. This is just selling percentage at the top tier of devices. Android still rules the entire market and to be honest I do not believe that BlackBerry will be able to go after many Android users. For now they just need to establish themselves as a solid and viable platform alternative while taking back a few percent of market share primarily from Apple. Then (as long as they keep innovating with the OS) we will start seeing some long term shift.

I have had my BB Style cell for two years with no problems whatsoever, and I also bought five BB Playbooks for the family and everyone loves them. So like other posts here, I am waiting for BB10 on the playbook
Next purchase, Zed 10

TU.S launch is like a launch all over again packed with surprises big app names and whoi knows what else. Its gotta be big and they know it. They will compete for Iphone and Android users and its gotta be good enough to pull them away.

alecia keys ,only 39,000 hits on her keep moving new york video,i said it b4,WHERE,S THE BEEF.this is not working.4 someone with 11 million followers.let,s hope in 3 weeks her new one will be much more appealing.

It was in the mid 40s when I. Just looked. I'm curious to see what kind of impact this project will have. I think when the actual video is made and launched at the concert there may be a slightly greater response. How it translates into positive image and sales for bb is another question

This is great news from Blackberry CEO ... increasing production to meet the higher than optimistic demands is great start for the new OS and Z10! ... US in March should be fantastic with also major Apps launching at that time also!

No concrete numbers were given. Heins just said that sales have exceeded Blackberry's "ambitous" expectations. Honestly, this does not mean anything concrete but I hope it means that sales are going as predicted in the markets in which BB10 has launched. This is good news even though what he said is all pretty much spin.

I suspect the ramp up in production is a ramp up to fill orders from the US carriers, which will hopefully be selling them soon. This was probably an expected ramp up but the fact that it is happening is good news. It measn that things are going according to plan so far.

On March 28, 2013, BlackBerry will present their Q4 earnings report for the period ending March 2nd, 2013. It will be interesting to see if they report how many Z10'a have actually been sold or have many have been shipped. Do they have the balls to report an actual number of Z10's sold? or will they play it safe and report a "shipped" number.... We will know the who is telling the truth in a few weeks...

As Prem Watsa said, BlackBerry turnaround will take two to three years. Finally BlackBerry has a product that compete against all the competition and for the first time ever people are asking me about Z10 never happened with any other BlackBerry before. BlackBerry is getting mindshare and that will lead to market share. Stay the course and stick to the game plan. BlackBerry is coming back because BB10 is really good.

Did everyone notice that Thorstein say apps will hit the 100,000 mark in March?

"The stock fell the day after it was announced jim sold his shares" i guess nobody realized he did this at the end of december, it just wasnt announced until recently. The sp really hasnt popped this morning, i guess the market doesnt feel as enthusiastic about thorsteins comments. If anyone feels bbry will exceed their estimates i strongly suggest you spend every penny on bbry stock. Mindless pumping without action is just what it is. it is my personal opinion that bbry is headed down the tubes. I bought shares in september,sold in december, i wish kept as i did not expect it to hit the 18 dollar high. I think it will come up again but for the longterm i really have no idea where it will go. I feel really sorry for those who are in love with thorstein. Clearly none of you with this love know any ceos, you dont become one because you are a nice guy, and you dont get there with excellent moral fiber and charm. As for the truth, no ceo ever speaks it in public. Not apples or msfts or samsungs. But who knows maybe thorsteins a one in a million.

How insightful. Bravo. You must have had a very difficult childhood or your world must be very twisted. I am glad I am not in it. Have you been to jail by chance because you were untruthful? You don't need to stay in this forum to unload all your garbage. Go and play on your craiglist. Leave this to those who have trust in a great product and a great company. This is definitely not your place.

All devices do the same thing TRANSMIT DATA. One of the best at it, without question, is BLACKBERRY. All those saying their device does it better give me a break. I am not talking about app count.

When Apple came along they improved things, the iPhone was a HUGE hit. Apple and Google are now using dated operating systems, more than 10 years old. It's just like window XP you are familiar with it so you don't change it. But it is still out dated and not the future. They will have to, at some point change their OS. It would be smart if Google started that now. Apple hmmm should have done it sooner. And yes they will lack apps until developer decide if they want to make apps for the new. It’s what’s happening to Microsoft and Blackberry presently. Some people will never change until they are forced. Microsoft will stop support for XP soon :o

Blackberry is at the starting gate with 79 million and taking users from that old dated system. Blackberry needs to control the conversation and the best way to do it is with advertising. What the device can do maybe too much for the average person to digest at once. They need to pick a selling point and sell the hell out of it. Once users take it on a test drive, “OMG” users will see it is so much more than that one selling point.

Worries No Blackberry is offering something fresh and new. They will be compared to what is old but there is no comparison. To the person that said buy, I have stock in BBRY and continue to buy. I will purchase all that I can afford before the stocks are at a price that is unaffordable.

I am loving BB10 Z10 Q10 hmmm I have a playbook was thinking Q10 Ahhh!!! I like this dilemma

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